San Antonio Texas Mayor Julian Castro, right, and his brother Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, center, talk with Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, all from San Antonio, before the beginning of the House Judiciary Committee hearing on America's Immigration System on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. Mayor Castro was one of the witnesses.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh) less

San Antonio Texas Mayor Julian Castro, right, and his brother Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, center, talk with Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, all from San Antonio, before the beginning of the House Judiciary ... more

Space has the been topic of discussion today as two ethereal objects, one smashing into the Earth’s surface, have garnered worldwide attention.

Texas Rep. Lamar Smith used the incidents to drive home the importance of maintaining funding and support to space research.

“Today’s events are a stark reminder of the need to invest in space science,” said the San Antonio representative and Chairman of the House Space, Science, and Technology Committee.

The Russian Academy of Sciences estimated the 10-ton meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere at the speed of around 33,000 miles per hour, the BBC reports. Hundreds have reportedly been injured by debris from the meteor as it broke up in its downward descent.

The meteor fell on the same day NASA researchers predicated a large asteroid, 2012 DA14, would zoom past the Earth. Researchers say the incidents are unrelated and information on the Russian meteorite is still being collected.

“Fifty years ago, we would have had no way of seeing an asteroid like this coming, Now, thanks to the discoveries NASA has made in its short history, we have known about 2012 DA14 for about a year,” Smith said. “As the world leader in space exploration, America has made great progress for mankind. But our work is not done. We should continue to study, research, and explore space to better understand our universe and better protect our planet.”

The remarks come at a time when funding for space projects continued to be reevaluated by lawmakers and often face continual cuts. The President’s 2013 budget includes $17.7 billion in NASA funding, a decrease from $18.7 billion in 2010, according to budget reports from the United States Office of Management and Budget.

Smith said the Science, Space, and Technology Committee will hold a hearing in the coming weeks to explore ways to identify with future asteroids that may pose a threat to Earth.